Last week's Torah portion was Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah), which begins with her death. (If I were clever, I would be telling you something about this weeks portion, but I'm still thinking of last week's.)
In Torah study yesterday, we were discussing that even though the Holy One had promised Abraham A) property "All the land you can see, I will give you and your offspring" and B) and "descendants as numerous as the stars" (both quotes from Genesis), in this portion he is near the end of his life and he doesn't even own a place to bury his wife and Isaac still hasn't married yet. In this portion Abraham tries to remedy these problems.
The discussion very much reminded me of Friday's post about ten strong sons. We think a lot about potential. We start testing our kids early to try to somehow divine who they will turn out to be. And, of course, we wonder who we are supposed to be and how we can fulfill our potential. Father Abraham obviously thought we were going to turn out okay. What I haven't really thought much about is how I am supposed to fulfill the potential of my ancestors. What is it that collectively we desire? And this includes who we were, and what we wanted then, as well as the communities that we belong to now.
My Uncle Don used to tell me that I was born in the wrong century. Perhaps he was right. My values are not necessarily the values of society around me. Yesterday the conversation turn to whether Rebecca wanted to marry Isaac. Excuse me? We should base our alliances on the emotions of a teenage girl?
It reminds me of Princess Di. Everyone seemed so upset that Prince Charles didn't really love her and they excused her bad behavior because she was in a "loveless" marriage. You should NEVER marry a crown prince because you think it's going to be romantic. It's a job. You do it in the service of your people. If he likes you, then all the better for you both. It's not a job requirement. As part of his job, he should have his people foremost in his mind, not the whims of a pretty wife. People should be more concerned with having a queen who is good queen... cue Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mum before her.
Despite this post, I am quite sentimental. Luckily, I am not the queen.
No comments:
Post a Comment